NTTF National League Enters Crucial Stage.

The ongoing Nigeria Table Tennis Federation, NTTF, national league enters crucial stage as teams are aiming for spots in the grand finale scheduled for Friday October 17 at the Molade Okoya-Thomas Hall of Teslim Balogun Stadium.

With few matches left for teams to play, matches in the female category will be concluded on Tuesday October 14, while the male team will round off their games on Wednesday October 15.

On Monday, the venue was thrown into excitement during the encounter between the Nigeria Security and Civil Defence Corps (NSCDC) and table topper, Springfresh.

When the match began, NSCDC was having the upper hand but when the Springfresh boys re-enacted their form, they rally from 2-1 down to put the game at 2-2.

In the deciding tie, the armed forces led by southpaw, Kazeem Makanjuola brought his experience to fore to ensure that NSCDC claimed the game at 3-2.

Despite this win, the status of Springfresh as the leading team in the men’s log table was not affected as the Ayo Omotara-captained side still topped the table.

In the female division, the absence of Tosin Esther Oribamishe in the G20 team became obvious as the team made up of junior players yesterday lose 3-1 to Springfresh ladies to play second fiddle to the Springfresh women.

Meanwhile the tournament enters its crucial stage today as the women teams will conclude their games ahead of the grand finale scheduled for Friday October 17.

Also, the men teams will continue their race for the top eight today with more matches expected to be played.

A disappointed member of the G20 girls, Ajoke Ojomu said that she was dazed with the loss they suffered against Springfresh, admitting that she was yet to get used to the new ball.

“I could not believe that I lose today because I have not been used to the ball and this really affected my game. I am still hoping that we can maintain our lead because we had defeated some of the so called big teams. I believe as I continue to play I will adapt to the ball and also help my team to be crowned the champion,” the Abuja-based player said.

For the referee of the tournament, John Peters, the tournament has indeed lived up to expectation as most of the players have displayed exceptional skills.

 “We are happy that new players are coming through this competition and that is one of our aims. We hope that at the end of the day, we can have more players joining the established ones in the national team.

It has been exciting since the competition began last week and as its enter the final days, we are expecting tough matches as most of the teams are eager to make the top eight and four in the grand finale on Friday, the International Table Tennis Federation (ITTF) blue badge umpire said.